It has been suggested that this case is political, that the military brass is making a show for the Iraqis to see that they follow rules too. Possible, but I get the feeling there's a lot the press has not been told yet.

Possibly. Still, if it's nothing more than internal politic bs, there's no reason for these men to go down for it. Call the decision makers to their bs, and make them deal with the situation on an even field.

I would hate for this turn out similar to Abu Ghraeb, where the higher ups give orders and ok certain tactics, but the ones who carry them out take the fall.

And now please don't go off on a OMG U SUPRT TERIZM rant. That is not the point.

Hopefully you would know me better than that by now. I appreciate every available perspective to any situation.

I suppose not getting a medal for commiting a war crime could hurt troop morale.

Calm down, it's only ones and zeros.

"Your calm and professional manner of response is really draining all the fun out of this. Can you reply more like Dr. Fagbot or something? Call me some names, mention some sand in my vagina or something of the sort. You can't expect me to come up with reasonable arguments man!" -- MaverickZ

Possibly. Still, if it's nothing more than internal politic bs, there's no reason for these men to go down for it. Call the decision makers to their bs, and make them deal with the situation on an even field.

Regardless of whether it's a political decision, I sincerely doubt any of these men will be convicted of anything. More likely, the investigators will take a look at Mr. Insurgents "bloody lip" and declare no foul play has been comitted and that Mr. Insurgent is simply a ***** and a sore loser.

Even if Mr. Insurgent was, in reality, beaten within an inch of his life.

Note, the terrorist who is pressing charges is the same guy that had the burnt decapitated bodies of the blackwater troops hung from a bridge. Personally I have no love for Blackwater, and think they are all fucked up sociopaths who should be kept as far away from firearms as possible, but this is fucking ridiculous. He's lucky he got away with a bloody lip rather than a ventilation hole in his forehead.

[/rant]

Blackwater "troops"? Wait, does this mean we have to support them too or else now? **** Blackwater. If you want to go play mercenaries instead of getting real jobs & act like homicidal douches in a foreign country, don't go acting surprised when someone cuts off your head and hangs you from a bridge. Sorry, U.S. Troops would be one thing, but these guys really-really shouldn't even be in the country.

If these men accused took it upon themselves to administer punishment to the prisoner, then they deserve what's coming to them. However, I do not think this is the case. Here's why:

The punishments that can be handed out under a courts-martial are much more severe than punishments that can be handed out at non-judicial punishment (NJP or admiral's mast). The difference is that in a courts-martial, the prosecution has to actually prove their case to a jury, where at admiral's mast guilt or innocence is entirely up to the discretion of the admiral. This says to me that the accused feel that they are being shafted by their own command, for whatever reason, and that the evidence against then would fall apart under any kind of remotely impartial scrutiny.

It should be noted to those without military experience that while a courts-martial is more impartial than NJP, the deck is almost always stacked heavily in favor of the prosecution. Court-martials are expensive and time-consuming, and requesting courts-martial instead of NJP usually results in your command throwing the book at you and fucking you over as hard as they can for making them go through the trouble, and as deterrent against every dickhead private/seaman/airman requesting court-martial when he finally gets written up after being late for muster for the ump-teenth time. You have to be REAL sure of your position to look at your commanding officer and say "go ahead ************, courts-martial me."

I will wait for a credible source to relate:
1) whether the allegations are of violence during Abed's capture, or after he had already been subdued
2) further, whether it is alleged that an attempt was made to cover up said violence
3) what evidence there is to substantiate the above allegations

Lt. Col. Holly Silkman, spokeswoman for the special operations component of U.S. Central Command, confirmed Tuesday to FoxNews.com that three SEALs have been charged in connection with the capture of a detainee. She said their court martial is scheduled for January.

United States Central Command declined to discuss the detainee, but a legal source told FoxNews.com that the detainee was turned over to Iraqi authorities, to whom he made the abuse complaints. He was then returned to American custody. The SEAL leader reported the charge up the chain of command, and an investigation ensued.